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To Lizzie, and all our feelings.

Prologue

T
his was it. One last blowout to send them off to college. Well, college for Steph. Her best friend, Lissa, was off to train horses at a farm in Virginia. Steph stood to the side of the barn party, watching Lissa approach, arm in arm with her dad. Even as Steph smiled and observed her friend’s easy banter, her heart sank just for a moment as she thought back to the dismissive good-bye she’d received from her own father that afternoon, by way of an e-mail sent from his office. Her mother hadn’t even bothered with that. But Steph’s mood lightened when Lissa grinned in her direction and then sent her dad off with a wave.

The two girls, who’d grown up together, met in the center aisle and hooked their elbows, tilting their dark heads close to one another and looking around at their farm family. Young girls and boys they’d given riding lessons to over the years were running around, laughing at the idea of having a picnic with their ponies and imagining with awe the prospect of doing nothing but riding for the rest of their lives. Parents smiled and chatted and secretly hoped their children never decided to embark on a lifelong career with horses. Other teenage girls rolled their eyes, wondering how it would all play out.

“My dad says we’re gonna get hurt and knocked up by some loser,” Lissa said, gazing ahead.

“Did he now?” Steph asked with raised eyebrows, her curly hair frizzing in the Texas humidity.

Lissa shrugged. “Well, maybe not word for word. And he said it with love.”

“That’s something anyway. But tell him not to worry. I’ll keep an eye on you.” Steph winked.

“I’m pretty sure that’s his greatest fear.”

They looked at each other and grinned.

Steph pulled her arm from where they were linked and slung it around Lissa’s neck. “It’s going to be great! You’re going to become a famous horse trainer, and some rich hottie is going to sweep you off your feet. And I’m going to ace all my classes in school, become a famous hippotherapist, and some rich hottie is going to sweep me off my feet!”

Lissa rolled her eyes at her friend’s enthusiasm, but butterflies of excitement rose up in her chest.

“I don’t care about fame or riches, but a good job would be nice, and a hottie with an accent wouldn’t hurt.”

Steph snorted. “We’re gonna go for it all.”

They leaned their heads together again. “Yep, we are.”

Chapter 1

Four Years Later

Steph

“N
ever have I ever… gone to college!” Lissa grinned mischievously.

I glared at her over the top of my champagne glass as I tipped it back into yet another sip no one else had to take. We were the only guests remaining at the Thompson-Rex wedding. Lissa and Ethan hadn’t wanted a big send-off, choosing instead to party the night away with friends and family. But everyone knows the best part of a wedding is the debriefing afterward, where all the stories about who did what, or whom, are told. I wasn’t sure that drinking games were traditional, but someone had started it, and there we were, acting like idiots.

“Yeah, great.” My vision was starting to get a little fuzzy. “Let’s harass the only one sitting here with a college degree. Bunch of miscreants,” I mumbled under my breath.

Lissa laughed. “Oh, Steph, you know we’re proud of you. But all is fair in love and drinking games. Your turn.” She nodded at me.

I stared around the table, trying to think of something she’d done that I hadn’t, which was hard. Lissa was sitting on Ethan’s lap, the ivory lace of her wedding gown cascading around them. Ethan’s arms were around her, and he kept fiddling with his wedding ring, a self-satisfied expression on his face. Lawrence was twirling a beer bottle in his hands while he looked straight at me, waiting. He’d long since abandoned his gray suit jacket, his silver tie was loosened, and the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up, revealing masculine forearms dusted with light brown hair. Something about a man with a shaven head in conservative attire really turned me on. Of course, my reaction might have been heightened by the fact that I’d consumed about a gallon of champagne.

An idea struck me and I grinned evilly. “Never have I ever”—I paused dramatically—“had butt sex!”

I pushed my glass away and leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms in front of me. Lissa and Ethan started to laugh and clinked their glasses together before they each took sips. I watched in amusement as Ethan took the glass from Lissa’s hand and set both their drinks down, then cradled her face in his hands and kissed her in a way that made me want to tell them to get a room. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and turned my head. Lawrence winked at me and took a long drink of his beer.

I pursed my lips. “Did you give or receive, Lawry?”

He laughed. “Oh, I think you know the answer to that, sweetheart.” He waggled his eyebrows at me, blue eyes twinkling.

I threw my hands up. “I can’t believe I’m the only one who hasn’t ventured around to the back door. I was right when I called you all miscreants.”

Lissa shrugged. “Don’t knock it till you try it.”

“I thought girls were more circumspect than this,” Ethan chimed in. “No kissing and telling.” He raised an eyebrow at Lissa, who gave him a peck on the cheek and shrugged.

I shook my head. “Girls are terrible. I know a lot about you.
A lot.
I’m pretty sure I know your whole schedule.”

“Jesus Christ.” He shook his head. “We have a schedule?”

Lawrence snorted. “Yeah, your schedule is at every available opportunity.”

Ethan suddenly stood, hoisting a laughing Lissa up and over his shoulder and palming her ass. “You’re right. And with that in mind, I’m taking my wife to bed. Tomorrow I’m whisking her off to an island where we will have nothing
but
opportunity. See you guys in a couple of weeks. Don’t burn the place down.”

He turned and started walking back up to their house, Lissa hanging upside down, waving and thanking us. A moment of silence passed where Lawrence and I smiled at each other.

I was trying not to think of that night. The night I saw, touched, and tasted the man next to me. The same night Ethan proposed to Lissa and I made a huge fucking deal about how it was just one time. Because Lawrence lived out of state, and I wasn’t a fan of serious relationships. Because I preferred sex on the side, and I didn’t think Lawrence would stay over there. And because that entire night was slightly fuzzy and dreamlike anyway.

I sounded whorish.

“Well.” He set down his beer. “We have officially shut down this wedding. I’m impressed.”

I sighed. “I’m drunk.”

“I’m not.” He smiled. “Can I take you home?”

I nodded, suddenly exhausted.

“Can I take advantage of you?” He waggled his eyebrows.

My heart pitter-pattered, but I shrugged it off, fatigue from the whole day overtaking me. “If I’m still awake, you can try.”

He laughed and grabbed my hand, pulling me upright. I smoothed the satin of my floor-length navy dress and slid my flip-flops back on. Lawrence extended his arm, and I linked mine through it, leaning heavily on him. He gave up on my legs being of any use for walking and simply swung me into his arms.

I lazily wound my arms around his neck and rested my head on his shoulder. Within seconds, my eyes drifted shut and I allowed myself to fall asleep in his arms.

* * * *

Lawrence

The chick was passed the fuck out in my arms. And, like an idiot, I was loving it. I didn’t know what it was about this girl. Well, that wasn’t true. I knew. She was smokin’ hot. She was smart and funny as hell. She was loyal and an awesome friend. And she was kind of a bitch. In a good way. Sort of.

A year before, if you’d asked me if I’d be down in Virginia at the wedding of my two closest friends, I’d have looked at you like you were crazy. I was the kind of person who had one good friend from high school, and that was it. Sure, I was friendly. That didn’t mean everyone was my buddy. When Lissa bounced into my world last winter, I’d had no idea what that would entail. She was like a friendly little tornado. When she found the people she wanted around her, she just spun us around until we couldn’t get out. Not that anyone tried very hard.

Ethan had been a bit of a motherfucker when we met, but it didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out his problem. Or a psychologist. Whatever. Any guy could see the territorial marker a mile wide around Lissa. And the way she looked at him? No one was going to come between them. But as it turned out, he was a good dude. Anyone who loved a woman as much as he did is up there in my book. Ethan had become not only a great friend, but someone I could talk to about business and horses who wasn’t a complete douche bag.

Looking down at Steph snoring in my arms, I acknowledged that a lot of good had come out of that first trip down with my father’s horses. With Lissa came Steph, and I’d never gotten her out of my mind. That night a few months ago that we all met for dinner with my dad? The night Ethan proposed to Lissa? Well, apparently romance was in the air. Or pheromones or some shit. Because my dad went back to his hotel room, and Steph and I went for a drink. Or seven. Seven turned into sex. At least seven times. The whole night was hot and sweaty and like nothing I’d experienced before. She’d ruined me. And she would never let it happen again. So she said.

It was a shame Steph seemed to have drunk herself under the table, because I’d been hoping she’d get just tipsy enough to make poor decisions but not so inebriated that she couldn’t, you know, stand. That meant I had to play gentleman and take her home with no reward.

I’d never loaded a dead body in a car before, but I was getting an idea of what it might be like. I stopped short of using the trunk. Still, it would have been a hell of a lot easier to lay her down, but I thought that might be crossing a line somewhere. Instead, I laid her in the backseat and buckled the middle strap around her, just in case. She didn’t move. How could someone get that drunk on fermented grapes?

We made the short drive in Steph’s car to her rented house in town. I’d only been there a couple of times, but I knew she never locked it, which was fortunate. I grabbed her feet and slid her out the door, lifting her and winding her arms around my neck in hopes that her instincts would make her hold on.

Her instincts sucked.

I used my foot to slam the car door and took her inside, carefully laying her on her bed. Her shoes I slipped off and tossed aside. Then I stared down at her, wondering what to do next. I felt like, as a gentleman, I should have considered dressing her in something more comfortable. Then again, as a gentleman, I probably shouldn’t.

In a valiant effort not to act creepy, I tugged the covers out from under her and settled her head on a pillow. I kicked off my shoes and stripped down to my boxers. Seeing as I was the responsible party, I figured I’d earned comfort. I crawled under the blankets and pulled them up around us. Without even thinking about it, my arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her back to me so we were flush against each other. If that was as lucky as I was gonna get tonight, it was still pretty damn lucky.

Chapter 2

Steph

O
h good Lord. I didn’t want to get up. My mouth tasted like… something bad. My eyelids were stuck together. I was still wearing my bridesmaid’s dress. And I was warm. Very warm. My brain tried to filter through the night before. The wedding was all it should have been. Full of love. The food had been great, the drinks plentiful. I didn’t think I’d embarrassed myself in any significant way. Hopefully.

My mind returned to the present. I blinked rapidly to clear my eyes. I could feel my mascara sticking my lashes together. I started to raise my hands to rub my eyes clear, but one was trapped. Tugging harder, I realized it was trapped under a human. Dear. God. I couldn’t look. The bed shifted and dipped, and my brain registered the alarming fact that I felt skin. A lot of skin. Male skin, so that was comforting. I guessed. Maybe.

“Mornin’, sunshine,” drawled out from the form beside me.

I shot upright and yanked my arm back. “Lawrence! What the fuck are you doing here?”

“Wow. You do not look as good this morning as you did last night.” He rolled over and raised himself on his elbows.

My pink paisley comforter fell away from his naked torso to reveal pecs, abs, manliness, and some ink that I didn’t remember from… before. I swallowed hard as I stared, trying to process his terribly offensive words as well as make out what I was seeing. And also figure out what the hell had happened the night before.

“What is that?” I pointed to his rib cage. Wrapped around his entire side was a huge American flag inked in. It was impressive and lifelike, and I had no idea he was hiding that under his clothes. Tattoos made me swoon.

He flopped back on the bed, arm flung over his face. “What do you think it is?”

“Okay, I know what it is. But why?”

“Can I not just love my country that much?”

“I guess.” I shrugged. “Actually, no. Not unless you served in the military. Otherwise it’s weird.”

“You know”—he cleared his throat and turned his head toward me—“I’ve had this tattoo for more than a few years now.”

I crinkled my nose. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Wow. I guess maybe… I wasn’t looking before…” I grimaced to myself, feeling awkward. Possibly I had been slightly more than tipsy that night.

He snorted and rolled his eyes. “I made a bet. My brother wanted to join the Air Force. I insisted my parents wouldn’t let him. He said if they agreed, I had to get a giant American flag tattoo when he enlisted.” His blue gaze met mine as he smirked. “I lost.”

I nodded quietly. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

He nodded, looking back up at the ceiling. I watched his throat move as he swallowed. “Had.”

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